"Altar Boyz" play

I took the three grandsons to see the Off-Broadway play "Altar Boyz" today at the Arvada Center. Grandpa elected to stay home and baby-sit the dogs. I was impressed with the Arvada Center. First thing we saw upon entering the building was a beautifully restored 1947 Indian motorcycle - an object of beauty if you appreciate that sort of thing, which we do. They were having a motorcycle exhibition in part of the building; we did not get to see all of it due to shortness of time. The Arvada Center is devoted to all of the fine arts and they have many educational programs for youth in addition to everything else. We saw limber young ballerinas lined up waiting to go in a room for practice. Art is everywhere - we passed many paintings and sculptures on our way to the main theatre area.

"Altar Boyz" is, to quote from the program, "a musical theatre piece staged as a live concert about a Catholic boy band -- a pulsating, humorous, unpretentious, heart-filled, blast". The touring company were all polished actors and singers. Music and choreography were lively - 'pulsating' describes it well. The characters were Matthew, Mark, Luke, Juan and Abraham. The script was very witty and funny even if one was not raised Catholic. The story line had a moral of acceptance for all, but it was not at all overbearing. A couple of the humorous references had my teenage grandsons snickering and probably wondering if Grandma "got it". (She did, and was laughing.)I'd definitely recommend it to anyone.


To get to the Arvada Center from Chatfield state park takes rather a long time. Arvada is a suburb north of Denver. Going out on highway C-470 was an easy, though lengthy shot. Coming back, we had to drop Brendan off at a birthday party, so I had to drive on I-70 and then I-25, not my favorite cup of tea. Traffic was all backed up on I-25, due to a big accident up ahead. For twenty minutes we averaged about 5 mph but at least we were moving. I have to say that Denver drivers were fairly courteous about letting me change lanes. Not sure if that is innate manners or the fact that I was driving a honkin' big truck with Texas plates. "Lila", our GPS device, also helped a lot. Glad to say I got the boys back safe and sound, and a good time was had by all.

Quote of the day:
"The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter." -- Mark Twain

Chatfield scenery

 I took this photo while out riding my recumbent trike on this beautiful day. I love Chatfield -- it has something for everyone. The 1,550 acre reservoir offers every type of water activity except surfing. We see watercraft from large power boats and pontoons, to sailboats, canoes and kayaks; there is a sandy beach for swimming too. In addition to the marina, Chatfield has a riding stable, miles of hiking and biking trails, and one of the most popular hot air balloon launching fields in the area. And of course the campground with full hook ups.
I think the land area of Chatfield is over 6,000 acres. Colorado certainly had wonderful planning to save this land from development. Surburban Denver is only 8 miles away. Chatfield has diverse ecosystems and a 27 acre nature reserve - there is also a heronry. We have seen Great Blue Herons flying at the edge of the water - what a majestic sight. The other day we noticed large birds flying - about 7 or 8 birds with huge wingspans. At first I thought they were hawks, but I think hawks are solitary flyers. They weren't herons, maybe vultures?
The animals living at Chatfield include deer, coyotes, red fox, rabbits and prairie dogs. The magpies and geese are campground regulars, finding easy pickings from some messy campers.
The prairie dogs have hills right beside the road, and seem to have no fear of vehicles passing close by. They sit upright at the entrance to their hills and look like little critters out of a cartoon. So far I haven't had my camera ready when I see them.

Weekends Chatfield is a very busy place, but Sunday afternoon the majority of campers left and we are enjoying the temporary quiet. Now I can hear the meadowlarks singing.

We discovered a fun game to play with the whole family -- a card game called "Apples to Apples". Adults and kids had a blast together. Our other activity seems to be eating. Jamee whips up a huge amount of food when all five kids are there, and it disappears quickly.

Quote for the day:
"The more sophisticated we get, the more advanced our buildings and vehicles become, the more vulnerable we are." -- Stephen Ambrose

Memorial Day weekend

Chatfield State Park, Colorado

The campground is full for the Memorial Day weekend. There are a lot of pop-up campers with young families, and most of the license plates are local. A little boy, I'd guess 7 years old, was running around this morning chasing the geese that frequent the campground. The geese let him get about 10 feet away before they ran; finally one flew, much to the boy's delight. When we walk the dogs, we can generally get no closer than 30 feet before the geese walk away. Life here must be good for geese -- lots of water and probably food crumbs from the campers.
Last night there were lots of campfires, some pretty large. I imagine a good amount of s'mores were consumed. Of course there was someone playing loud music to spoil the sounds of nature. I like watching the families enjoying their weekend, but we'll be glad to see them go home too, so us old fogies can have relative peace and quiet.
There are lots of boaters for the long weekend too. Yesterday we rode over to the marina area to watch the boats -- I like the sailboats best. In another life maybe I'll be a sailor; not in this one!
After a few windy days, the weather here is gorgeous, sunny and mild. Family nearby, mountain views, great weather -- life doesn't get much better.

Grandkids, Denver

 
These are our grandkids; we can't believe they are growing up so fast. Taylor is standing on the left, Brendan and Sarah are sitting on the bench, Sean is in back wearing the hat, and Ryan on the end. Sarah and Taylor are twins, age 12. Brendan is 11, Sean is 13; Sean and Brendan both have birthdays in July so they will be 14 and 12. Ryan is 15 and turns 16 in Sept.
Ryan has his driver's permit and just finished his first year at Arapahoe High School. He is in the concert choir - he had to audition for it. Sean has his 8th grade "continuation" ceremony later today, which we will attend. He is very active in sports. Brendan plays guitar and loves drama and acting. All five kids are bright and we think they are keepers.
Kelly and Jamee didn't want to be in the photo. Now that the kids are old enough to hold still for a photo, their parents are camera shy!
We have been on the go since we got to Denver. We have been over to Kelly and Jamee's house a couple of times already -- she is a fabulous cook; also a wonderful mother and stepmother. Kelly is a lucky guy, and a great father too.
Doug's brother Jeff and Jeff's wife Gail live in Denver, so we enjoy visiting with them too.

We are camped at Chatfield State Park, which is between southern Denver and the front range of the Rockies. Kelly and Jamee's house in Highlands Ranch is only 15 minutes from us -- how fortunate we are to be so close to them in such a huge population area. We can see the mountains from our campsite. Last week there was snow here and now there are small wildflowers blooming in the grassy areas. Right now everything is green but soon enough it will be dry. I love the climate here -- days are usually sunny but low humidity. Evenings always cool off by 30 degrees no matter how hot it got during the day, so we can sleep with open windows. Unlike Nebraska in summer!


Quote for the day:
"The goal of life is living in agreement with nature." -- Zeno, Greek philosopher

Brush Colorado

We had a good traveling day yesterday. Barb came out to the campground in Aurora to watch us "fold up the house" as she puts it, and we were on the road by 9:00 am. We are in the city campground in Brush Colorado, population 5,000. We picked it as our stopping place on the way to Denver. We try not to travel more than 250 to 300 miles a day - why rush?
I didn't take any pictures in Brush, because frankly there is not much to see. This is the northeastern high plains area -- very flat and not scenic. The city run campground is right next to a nice park. It has lots of trees, big old ones and some newly planted, picnic shelters, playground with newer equipment, and a large swimming pool. Everything is well maintained. There is a small museum on the park grounds, in an old brick school house. We can never pass up a museum, so went in, gave a donation and spent some time looking at old photos and artifacts. Brush was founded in 1882 at the location where the Burlington railroad crossed the path of the Texas-Montana cattle trail. Evidently the heyday of Brush was in the 1920's. The main businesses then were cattle and sugar beets. The sugar beet plant closed in 1955 and now corn is the main crop. The farmers are having a hard time (everywhere it seems). The volunteer guy has lived here for 85 years, was born on the farm and "never had enough money to leave". He said that water from the South Platte river is "used up by all those Denver folks", and this area is very dry now. There is not much shopping in town; Fort Morgan which is 11 miles away has a Wal-Mart which has knocked off most of the local stores.
Across from the park is a fishing pond, newly established, with a wide paved path around it and a xeriscape garden at one end. Piper and I walked around the pond and there was some kind of community "teach your child to fish" day. Lots of children with fishing poles, adults supervising. There is something endearing about watching little kids learning to fish -- almost like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting.

We rode our recumbent trikes around town this afternoon. It is a sunny day with temps in the mid 80's. Brush city streets are wide and flat, ideal for biking. The homes are modest and neatly kept. Some of the houses were really tiny and old, but we didn't see trashy yards like in some communities. The locals say that the biggest employers are the school system, the nursing home and the power plant. Brush is a sleepy blue-collar town that has seen better times, but the residents seem to take a lot of pride in keeping their town clean and neat. Probably a good place to raise a family, provided the parents can find work.

We did some chores after our ride around town, and just piddled which we are very good at. We have broadband access here so have caught up with computer stuff. Denver is only 90 miles away so tomorrow will be an easy travel day. We are looking forward to seeing family, especially the fast-growing grandchildren.

Quote of the day: "The trick to education is to teach people in such a way that they don't realize they're learning until it's too late." -- Harold Edgerton

more on Aurora

 
 
 Aurora has a population of 4,225 people and growing; it is a charming town with huge old houses as well as new subdivisions. The town square looks like something out of a picture book, with a historic red limestone courthouse, statues, large trees and beautiful lawn with benches. Surrounding the courthouse are shops on the four brick streets, with refurbished historic-looking streetlights. The city has resurrected the old movie theatre.
Aurora has a wonderful museum -- the Plainsman. We were lucky to get there on the last day of a traveling Smithsonian exhibit "Between Fences". The exhibit explored the history and meaning of the fence from colonial times through the settlement of the Great Plains to today's fencing of our southern border. The permanent exhibits of the Plainsman are above average -- there is a sod house inside the museum as well as many other treasures too numerous to mention. This is a large museum with a large second building devoted to agricultural history. Well worth visiting and a real bargain at the $4 senior fee.
Also in Aurora is the Edgerton Explorit Center which we did not have time for on this visit. Next time!

Quote for the day:
"Before I built a wall I'd ask to know
What I was walling in or walling out.
And to whom I was like to give offense.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall.
That wants it down." -- Robert Frost

Aurora campground photos

 
 
 Here are the missing photos from the entry below. I am not an expert on this blogging stuff; still learning.

Aurora Nebraska

 
 
 We are staying a few days here in Aurora to visit our friends Barb and Jim Hruza. We are camped at the Streeter Park campground run by the city. It is small but nice and right in town. We have a great campsite -- next to trees and grass, very pretty. Christensen Field campground at Fremont was a great location for us but it was a large gravel lot; so we are really appreciating being in this parklike setting. I took a photo from our rear window -- you can see the recumbent trikes still on the rack and the tiny meadow which is our "backyard". The crabapple trees are blooming and fragrant, and while walking dogs I noticed the little wild violets. They have such exquisite tiny purple blossoms. While writing this I can see a female Cardinal in the tree right outside the window. Simple pleasures are the best.
Doug and Chester were having such a peaceful nap that I couldn't resist taking their picture.
Last night we went with Barb and Jim to the local bowling alley for Mexican food. We had the Nacho plate which was very good. After supper we walked over to the Pump & Pantry for ice cream, then walked back to the campground. Again, simple pleasures.
This morning I walked a couple of blocks to McDonald's to have morning coffee (tea actually) with Barb and a few of her friends. The men sit at one table and the women sit at another area. People come and go and everyone knows everyone else. We gals worked the crossword puzzle from the newspaper. Doug and I are enjoying our short stay in Aurora.
We have a very slow connection in this spot -- so I am having trouble posting pictures. For now, use your imagination. I have photos of the museum but not sure when I'll get those posted.

Quote of the day: "Our friends remind us of the song in our hearts when we have forgotten the words." Anonymous

Family and friends in Nebraska

 
 We got to Fremont for Doug's mother's 95th birthday. She is doing wonderfully and living independently at Nye Square, a retirement center in Fremont. She has her own apartment and comes and goes as she wants. She does have macular degeneration so had to give up knitting. She has a reading machine which magnifies and puts the image on a TV screen; with some effort she can read cards and instructions but not books or newspapers. Luckily she has good peripheral vision so she can walk without bumping into things. She does her own laundry and cleaning. Cooking now consists of putting a frozen dinner in the microwave. She does not like to eat in the dining room with "all those old people who just gossip". She has some arthritis in her back and knees but "doesn't like to take pills", so she just toughs it out. She walks briskly without any aids. She comes from good solid Hungarian stock.

We have been busy seeing old friends, relatives and neighbors. It has been fun catching up. A lot of our friends live in Omaha; that city feels most like a hometown for us, as we lived there for many years. Omaha is growing and is a real nice city. If any readers have not been to Omaha, be sure to visit the Henry Doorly Zoo which is nationally recognized as one of the best zoos in the country. Also highly recommended is the Western Heritage Museum; Omaha also has the largest community playhouse in the nation. The Lauritzen Botanic Gardens is only about 6 years old but growing into someplace special. If you are an animal lover, be sure to stop and see the Nebraska Humane Society in Omaha - it is a welcoming place with wonderful programs for the animals.
We really have been treasuring time with our "old" friends -- seems that as we "mature" we value friends even more.

Our campground here at Christensen Field in Fremont is a busy place on the weekends. Soccer and softball games, horse shows and other events, always something going on. There have been barrel riding events on two different weekends, a two day Paint Horse show, and now a Pinto horse show. We met up with a friend we've known for 25 years - she is still barrel racing. The horse trailers park close by and we can watch the riders warm up their horses in the field right next to the campground.

Quote of the day: "A person doesn't become old until his regrets take the place of his dreams." Max Dupree